i did. i didn't come to ask you guys empty-handedly. if it appears like i did ask without any research, well what i can say.

i watched careyholzman's 2 hours video. i watched jayztwocents live pc building videos it was an hour plus also. i watched lots of linustechtips videos, and i've watched lots of random recommended pc building videos afterwards. which is how i was able to build the PC. i read maximumpc's essential pc building tips, lifehacker articles on pcbuilding, one of tomshardware pcbuilding article, bit-tech aircooling investigation, perfect airflow articles, freenas rotational vibration explanations... those are the ones i remembered on top of my head. but i've read numerous others. The things i've asked are things i couldn't find on the YT videos i've watched or articles i've read. i started from zero so i apologize if the question are very basic, but i didn't come to ask you guys empty-handed i actually did read all the manuals that came with the parts, watched youtube videos and read articles before asking.

- googling does audio boost works on the front audio plug didn't reveal the answer i was looking for. http://bit.ly/1cyd9K7- or googling what is the spike connector on 3.5 drive http://bit.ly/1cydGf2 revealed nothing either- my motherboard manual didn't tell me should i plug the HDaudio or the AC97. not to mention i didn't get the thick user manual initially. i had to call them and make them send it to me separately after rechecking at techpowerup what comes default in the packaging.- regarding molex and fans, the linus build video about molex and fans plug is confusing because i dont think my case has a front molex plug, i didn't understand what did he mean by front fan connector and where did that cable came from? was it from the PSU or from the case? what's that other cable from 28.30, i know 1 is the fan plug, what did he connect it with? basically from 28.10 to 28.50 is confusing hence the molex question- i couldn't find explanation for MSI utilities, thats also why i ask. i did googled which driver i should install, that's how i learned "chipset first, then the rest" term. i didn't understand smartconnect and all the other drivers i hadn't installed so i asked.

ATM im printing hardwaresecrets PSU explanations, but since their website can't be copy-pasted to a word document, i have to snip one by one. i read intensively since before i opened the thread here.

basically, everything i've asked, i asked because i couldn't find it on youtube / google / pc building 101 articles. i have no friend that builds a PC, and brick-and-mortar store here aren't helpful at explaining so much as pushing specific products that yields them the biggest profit i'd assume. i did ask them about extension cable before asking on the thread when i bought my parts, they wouldn't explain it because i didn't agree to "orally agree to buy before they explain" what it's for. i think i wrote that on my first post. anyway i genuinely want to learn, and i didnt ask with an empty head. if it looked that way, nothing i can say.

Im sorry if i came off rude. But asking about the types of power connectors on a PSU throws up a red flag

i went from completely zero knowledge. from i didn't know what CPU / PSU stands for. i know intel is a processor because i used laptop and i know abt keyboard mouse and monitor but that's all i knew. so yeah.. did not know and never let alone molex, i never knew what SATA power cable / data cable looked like, so there's that. my board didn't come with the thick user manual. it just came with the quick installation guide. maybe the store dropped it when they slapped the store / local distributor warranty sticker on the board.

anw... i hv a question about my case-board usb 3.0 connector...

i noticed when i first build the PC that the USB 3.0 plug doesn't snug fit / tight at all like all the other connectors. it's less snug than fan / usb 2.0 / audio plug. it's just not fit at all. i can easily take it out when i pull the cable, unlike other connectors.

also when i plug it in, it didn't have the tactile feeling / click sound you feel / heard when something is connected. is this the bitfenix shinobi case fault or the msi motherboard fault? here's the picture.

the 1st picture is when im holding it with my hand (pressing it from outside the camera)

the 2nd picture is when i take away my hand and leave it there

as you guys can see, it got a little bit loose. i'd like to ask,, is this the shinobi 3.0 plug fault, or the MSI board connector fault?because the thing is whenever i plug usb 3.0 device like USB / HDD to the front of the case, the USB device i have got connected/disconnected intermittently all the time...More importantly, will it short out the motherboard if its not snug fit? i couldn't make it snug fit without breaking the board it seems...

2) regarding my previous question about extension cables... if i dont want to have my cable sleeved but i want my cable to look like the picture i quoted above... can i use extension cables instead? if i buy these kinds of extension cables....http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... c97397a081how do i use it? is PSU >> Modular Cable PSU >> NZXT Extention Cable >> Motherboard the correct order on using it...?

someday i'd like my PC to look like this... (just the cable) ==>

that kinds of colorful cable is either Sleeved or Extension is it...?

Last edited by Troveo on Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:07 am, edited 2 times in total.

Don't worry about the internal USB3-connector. It's a common problem that the fitting doesn't seem optimal, but it usually works just fine. Crappy construction from the start if you ask me. Should have a clip, like the modern SATA cables. A clip would hold the cable in place, and also give a satisfactory tactile feeling with a nice click sound.

Troveo wrote:

Why do they combine SATA plug and Molex plug?

Go further up the power distribution chain and you will discover that your microwave oven also is involved.

Sorry for teasing you a bit. I think it's great that you're throwing yourself into this. I friend of mine is doing the same thing. He will try on his own first, and then call on me or another guy if he runs into serious problems. It will be interesting. I've been building these things for 20 years and experience makes you take lots of things for granted. Takes a new guy to make you see, so it's a learning experience for both.

Don't worry about the internal USB3-connector. It's a common problem that the fitting doesn't seem optimal, but it usually works just fine. Crappy construction from the start if you ask me. Should have a clip, like the modern SATA cables. A clip would hold the cable in place, and also give a satisfactory tactile feeling with a nice click sound.

Troveo wrote:

Why do they combine SATA plug and Molex plug?

Go further up the power distribution chain and you will discover that your microwave oven also is involved.

Sorry for teasing you a bit. I think it's great that you're throwing yourself into this. I friend of mine is doing the same thing. He will try on his own first, and then call on me or another guy if he runs into serious problems. It will be interesting. I've been building these things for 20 years and experience makes you take lots of things for granted. Takes a new guy to make you see, so it's a learning experience for both.

no problemo

oh, also forgot to mentionfirst is the i/o shield.

1) does that silver thing on the usb supposed to be like that or should i have bend the silver thing to make it inside the case?

== the I/O shield as you can see from the bottom part of the combined picture... came not bended like that on the plastic. that bottom part of the combined pict, i took from a review site. it came like that from the box.i was seeing big static spark when i tried to plug my external mybook 3.5" drive to the slot. it was quite a big spark. so i'd assume it's big static because i could see it.if i only see the static spark just that one time, is it still okay to use that motherboard, or is it already repaired beyond help and i should just return and get another motherboard?

anyway that silver thing is it supposed to be like that? that dont seem right to me. and if i supposed to bend it, which one i should ben? only the one on the USB or both the USB and the LAN slot?

no, its suposed to be on top like the others. sometimes its takes 3 hands to get everything to line up just right. you can just bend it out and fold it back, if you dont want to remount the mobo to fix it.

_________________Help SPCR keep the lights on, use these links when you buy: NCIX, Amazon and Newegg

no, its suposed to be on top like the others. sometimes its takes 3 hands to get everything to line up just right. you can just bend it out and fold it back, if you dont want to remount the mobo to fix it.

i'll remount, it's fine. i'd like to ask about the static spark i saw though...i was seeing big static spark when i tried to plug my external mybook 3.5" drive to the slot. it was quite a big spark. so i'd assume it's more than 3000 smthn because i can see it

should i just use the motherboard until it finally dies or should i just spend another $160 for the exact same motherboard just because of 1 visible static shock? Generally speaking how bad is 1 visible static shock?i feel dumb if i hv to spend $160 for 1 visible static shock, but OTOH i have a mild case of OCD hehe biggrin.gif

You accidentally shorted something. It happens. Worst case for me was when I attempted to "hot-swap" some old PATA HDDs back in the day. Fiddling with the power connector I let +12v meet ground in a spectacular fashion. Big spark and the system shut down. But no permanent damage as far as I could tell.

You accidentally shorted something. It happens. Worst case for me was when I attempted to "hot-swap" some old PATA HDDs back in the day. Fiddling with the power connector I let +12v meet ground in a spectacular fashion. Big spark and the system shut down. But no permanent damage as far as I could tell.

the usb3 connector is way loose. whenever i sweep or mop my room and subsequently move my case, i have to reposition the USB3 connector because it's way loose. if i never move my pc case at all then it's okay but when i move it, then i'll get usb device malfunction not recognized mssg. then i had to open my case, reposition the cable, and then its okay again. i 've been doing that for the last 4 days.

that said... i just took another pictures i'd like you guys to look at...

initially i suspect whether i hv bent pin on that board usb3 connector or not. as far as my untrained eye can see it's not bent in a visible way, nor is it completely fat. idk if its slightly bent or not because i hv no idea what bent pin looks like, and google search only showed either the CPU pin bent image or major bent image

since i'm able to plug the usb3 connector all the way down when im holding the cable with my hand (without any force at all on my part)... does that mean most likely my board pins are okay...?and it's not visible to my eye either whether its bent or not. i can plug in just fine if i hold my hand on top of the cable, it's just won't stick no matter what i do. it's just sort of there. the thing is... because warranty here where i live aren't really being honored that well so if it's a CID like bent pin, then i'm screwed and im sort of forced to buy another board. hehe

2) abt cable management... i tried every possibility of cable management i could think of that didn't involve ducktaping or pressing the USB3 cable under another thick cable (like forcing it to enter under the 24pin thick cable) and zip tie it a certain way so that it'd push down. i tried that and it could theoretically stick there, but im afraid it'll bent sideways if i do that permanently.

now on to the photo of the usb3 connector itself. i suspect that the usb3 connector from the bitfenix case is a little bit faulty. idk if my suspicion is true or is it just placebo on my part.

if you wouldnt mind checking out this photo, you can see the right side small bump is not as big as the left side small bump, in my opinion. can you see it clearly? is it visible or it's just placebo on my part?

that's front and back. the left side (in actuality) aka the right side bump on the picture looks like it's not properly made / not as big a bump as the left side.it's just the left side that won't connect firmly, the right side at least, it plugs okay-ish. i suspect that it is the case usb3 connector and i'll be glad if its the case thats faulty because its a temporary case until i get my h440

alrighty so... since this is my first PC, all i know when i built it was to make it quiet or silent and have window so i can see what i built

i didn't know how it was gonna look until i assembled it and see the finished product. Because... i never see PC components up close nor do i understand what it does. i literally have zero knowledge of PC components, let alone PC build.

now that all the difficult stuff have been asked and explained with... i thank you all,,, and i'd like to spice things up on my case just a tiny bit and ask a couple vanity questions...

this is how my case looks like from where i sit.

as i see the image above, i think now that i see the components, im gonna go with a VGA with a backplate because it looks cool. probably i'm going to get the MSI GTX 760 mini itx or MSI GTX 760 hawk.

the reason for the VGA upgrade other than wanting to have backplate is that... the dragon head heatsink on the MSI H87 board dissappeared with the long graphic card, the design of the H87 board makes the dragon head covered by the long VGA. unlike say... MSI Z87-GD65. oh well i learn my lesson

1) if i get the MSI 760 mini itx, then i'd assume the dragon head on the heatsink won't be covered by the VGA. however... the backplate have MSI logo on it...

i'd rather not see that logo.

so my question is...

a) can i slap some sticker on that MSI logo? some random sticker or some sticker i got from my SSD like if i slap intel speed demon sticker on that backplate would that be okay?

b) is mini itx video card destined to be noisier than its normal counterpart?

c) how to interpret decibel value in real life?

the 760 mini itx have 26 idle == 31 load db

the 760 hawk have 26 idle == 30 load db

=> how loud is 1 db differences?

*my current msi r9 270x have 25 idle == 27 load db and it's dead quiet on idle and very decent while gaming. its not even loud at all, it's audible though

2) since im using noctua nh-u12s now, im now familiar with how dead quiet the noctua fans are.

since from 2 foot away i barely hear anything with bitfenix shinobi. i assume when my H440 arrive it'd be even more quiet.

so... im considering changing the noctua cpu cooler fan with some other more colorful fans. im thinking of getting a phanteks fans.

corsair only colors the ring, and i like how phanteks colors the fans instead. it looks decent to me.

my question is...

a) do you guys have any other colorful fans recommendation that color the fans all the way like phanteks?b) what should i research / pay attention to before buying the fans and change the noctua cpu cooler fans?i know i should check whether its static fans or airflow fans, but other than that what kind of specification should i pay attention to, to know whether the fans will be quiet / loud / good / bad for static / airflow if it isnt stated outright like corsair's...?

3) generally speaking... if i buy a led like bitfenix alchemy... does it have an on / off switch or does it stays on all the time...?

b) do you guys hv any other led recommendation i should check out other than bitfenix alchemy?

The main reason to mount a PSU facing down is to let more fresh air go through the inlet fan. As you won't have any forced cooling (it's fanless), you will have no evidence that position is still the best one (even if it's still true the PSU will get more fresh air through the bottom case intake, there would be no forced convection through the back, so that inside the PSU itself the hot air *might* even be more stagnant: with reference to that, it worth to mention the very same Seasonic advices to mount their fanless PSUs with the top grille facing up).

Personally I would mount it facing up (and so I use my Seasonic 460W).

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